Today was supposed to be a focused guiding day so Ilyas arrived early. Standing inside Team Zero's meeting room by himself, Ilyas decided to brew some tea using the electric kettle in the room.
There were few instant tea and coffee packages neatly arranged inside a box in the table's corner, which was always refilled whenever it's empty. Sometimes with new type of tea leaves and different coffee flavor too.
Ilyas picked up one of the instant tea and brewed it with boiling water. Savoring the aroma before bringing it to his seat.
"It seems like I've picked up his habit."
Ilyas chuckled, remembering how Ethan never missed a chance to offer him a cup of tea in a meeting until Ilyas got so used to of having one every morning.
Team Zero always had a meeting every day, so accepting the tea brewed by Ethan was the daily norm for him. Now, every time Ilyas came here, it would feel incomplete without a cup of tea.
'Maybe I should brew him one too.'
CLICK!
The door opened and two of his team members entered. With gym bags slung on their shoulder, they walk leisurely inside.
"Morning Ilyas."
"Yo."
"Morning everyone."
They exchanged light greetings and sat on their seats. Curiously looking around for the last member of the team, Ilyas asked, "Where's Ethan?"
"Restroom."
"I see."
These days, Ethan had been going in and out the restroom in every break they had. It might be him overthinking things but Ilyas' guts told him there's something wrong, and his guts was usually right.
TAPTAP!
Hearing finger tapping on the table, Ilyas turned his gaze forward. Xain was fidgeting, so unlike his usual demeanor. Realizing Ilyas' gaze, Xain asked.
"Hey Ilyas, can you ruffle my hair a bit?"
Xain was staring directly into his eyes, indicating that he wasn't joking.
Cedric was even more bewildered than Ilyas, "What the hell are you saying? Why would you ask Ilyas- No whatever, if you want someone to make a mess out of your hair, I'll do it instead."
"Who says you could do that?! I asked Ilyas not you! Argh! Get your sweaty hands off my head!"
Xain dodged Cedric's grab and backed away from him, as if retreating from a filth trying to cling on his body. Cedric didn't chase after him but he gave him a dissatisfied expression.
Seeing him backing down, Xain turned his head to Ilyas and walked right in front of him.
"Just do it already Ilyas."
He lowered his head in front of Ilyas and gave him a serious look. Having no choice but to do it, Ilyas ruffled it gently.
"Is it like this?"
"Hm… Could you also smile while doing it?"
Now Ilyas was even more confused, but he obeyed anyway, and gave Xain a slight smile while patting his head. But Xain's eyes were filled with troubled expression. There's still something bothering him.
"Alright, that's enough."
Cedric separated them and kicked Xain back to his seat, putting a stop to Xain's antics.
CLICK-
Ilyas' attention turned to the door at the sound of doorknob turning. The only esper in this team who wore a full suit and also their captain had finally arrived. As usual, his slicked back hair and tidy suit gave a very formal impression.
When his grey eyes met Ilyas', he gave a soft smile.
"Sorry I'm late, let's start today's guiding session."
Because of the three days non-stop raid, the three espers had barely any guiding. The longest guiding they had in a day was 5 minutes. To compensate that, today was a full-day guiding day for the espers, which Ilyas had prepared mentally before coming here.
"We will start with Cedric."
Whenever it came to guiding, there's an unspoken rule of guiding order in this team. Depending on the contribution of the previous gate, either Xain or Cedric would be guided first, and Ethan would always be the last.
Usually the amount of contribution of those two was judged by Ethan. This rule somehow got applied after the haphazard guiding schedule in their last three days.
So now, Ilyas and Cedric were the only one staying inside the meeting room.
"I'll begin guiding now."
Ilyas wrapped his hand on Cedric's, his emotions flowing into him.
Curiosity, and a little bit of possessiveness.
The raging bloodthirst that Ilyas usually felt had somehow shifted its focus to something tamer, curiosity.
This time Cedric didn't stare at Ilyas like he used to, but instead his gaze was directed to the door seemingly watching something beyond.
"Ilyas, if I and Ethan were to fight to death, who do you think would win?"
That's a really random question.
Because Ilyas didn't know what Cedric was planning to do, Ilyas decided to answer it carefully.
Organizing his words in his mind, he opened his mouth, "I think you can win if the condition is right. But, the more you delay the fight, Ethan would win."
Cedric just hummed at Ilyas's answer, his gaze finally shifted to Ilyas as he opened his mouth.
"Between the three of us, who do you trust the most?"
"That's..."
Beneath the golden wavy hair Ilyas could see a twinkle of expectation in Cedric's eyes, at the same time a hint of amusement could be felt flowing into Ilyas.
"It's Ethan isn't it?" Before Ilyas could answer, Cedric continued, "Why do you think I ask these questions when you're guiding me? It's because I want you to feel what I feel, whether it's a petty feelings like jealousy, or something overwhelming like arrogance. And in that same manner, I want to feel your emotions too."
Cedric gave Ilyas a smirk, but it's not out of disrespect toward Ilyas but rather a self-depreciating smirk aimed to himself, "I told you before didn't I? I'm quite possessive of the things I enjoy, even if the target is a person. You might already know it, but one of it is you."
He turned his gaze down, "A certain guy told me to question this to myself, am I possessive of your ability or your presence in the team? Now I have the answer."
The corner of Cedric's lips turned upward. For the first time since Ilyas met him, this was the first genuine smile he saw from Cedric. His emotions flowing to Ilyas was one of joy.
"This team... Every single one of you guys has become a thing I enjoy, though Ethan and Xain's constant bickering is annoying to the ear, but seeing you laugh at the smallest joke they made makes me happy too."
He stared at Ilyas with clear eyes. "So I'm going to treasure it, you and this team."